Nick Chowdhury was in his early 20s when he lost his wallet at the Comox Marina while fishing in 1991.

Unbeknownst to him, a young man would return his wallet, more than 30 years later, after finding it at roughly the same location where it was last seen.

Born and raised in the Comox Valley, Chowdhury recalled how everything unfolded on that fateful day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty unbelievable,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne summer day, I grabbed my fishing rod and went out to the Comox Marina when the tide was low. I hopped over the edge of the dock onto the breakwater rocks. As I started walking my wallet, which was in my front pocket, was sticking out of my shorts. So I looked at a spot and I remember holding my wallet and gently putting it down thinking 鈥楾his is the spot, I gotta remember this.鈥� 鈥�

Yet, hours later, following a long fishing session, Chowdhury realized his wallet was nowhere to be found.

鈥�(When I came) back, of course, no rock looked familiar,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 probably walked around for an hour trying to retrace my wallet. I knew that if I didn鈥檛 get it, the tide would come up鈥� and I鈥檇 probably never see it again. After a while, I gave up.鈥�

As a young man, Chowdhury explained that this incident ended up being a major headache.

鈥淓verything I had was in there: my birth certificate, my status card, my SIN (social insurance) card, my care cards鈥� everything,鈥� said Chowdhury. 鈥淚t was (such a) hassle to replace all of (my) IDs because you need some IDs to be able to prove who you are and get new ones.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a lot back then and that was the last thing I needed.鈥�

Frustrated and feeling defeated, the fisherman hopped on his bicycle and rode home empty-handed. A few weeks later, Chowdhury bought an identical wallet, stating that it was his favourite model.

Fast forward 33 years - cue Comox teen Jamie Lee, 14.

鈥淚 was fishing on the rocks with a bunch of my friends by the marina and one of my friends was going to go up to the dollar store to get us some snacks,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淗e took my other friend鈥檚 electric skateboard and started running over but he dropped the (board) controller (among the rocks) and lost it.鈥�

As the teenager and his friends began combing through the boulders, on May 10, Lee stumbled upon a peculiar sight.

鈥淚 just started digging and digging and鈥� I removed a rock and saw this super old wallet,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淚 told my friends 鈥楪uys, I just found someone鈥檚 wallet.鈥� I picked it up, opened it and it was super crusty. There were holes in it and it was hard to open.鈥�

Trying to make sense of what he just found, Lee brought the wallet to a safer place and started looking at its contents.

鈥淚 slowly started pulling out all the cards I saw (Chowdhury鈥檚) IDs,鈥� Lee recalled. 鈥淚 was shocked (so) I called my dad because this guy must have lost his wallet forever ago and I just wanted to get it back to him.鈥�

Shortly after, Jamie鈥檚 dad, Bill Lee, slid into Chowdhury鈥檚 Facebook direct messages, informing him that his son had found his wallet.

Astounded, Chowdhury didn鈥檛 know how to react at first.

鈥淚 almost didn鈥檛 even reply to him,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t felt like somebody was trying to scam me because we didn鈥檛 know each other. (But then they) started sending me pictures (of my old IDs.)鈥�

After noticing both he and Lee had a few friends in common, Chowdhury eventually replied.

鈥�(Lee) happened to be coming into town. I gave him my address and 15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and he said 鈥楾his is yours,鈥� and he held out my old wallet.鈥�

Despite sustaining some damage, Chowdhury noted that everything in his wallet was still in its rightful place and in relatively good condition, more than three decades later.

Reflecting on this event, what was once an unfortunate incident has transformed into a unique story to share with friends and family around a fire pit.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a blast from the past,鈥� said Chowdhury. 鈥淚n fact, I was recently thinking of going (fishing) again and bringing my kids. Back then I wasn鈥檛 driving, so I rode my bike and everything was in my pockets. But now I鈥檓 going to drive out and leave anything that鈥檚 valuable, like wallets, in the car.鈥�

鈥� 鈥� 鈥�

In the end, Jamie and his friends successfully found the electric skateboard鈥檚 controller.

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